Palm Court resident has called Culver City home for over 50 years
Dr. Janet Cameron Hoult was named “Senior of the Year” at this month’s Culver City Council Meeting. Culver City recognized Dr. Hoult for her efforts to encourage local seniors to stay active and engaged.
Dr. Hoult has lived in Culver City since the 1970’s, sharing twenty-five of those years with her late husband Charley. In addition to teaching poetry at the Culver City Senior Center and volunteering for the Culver City Arts Foundation, Dr. Hoult has also been active in the city government. She has served on the Culver City Disability Awareness Committee, the Landlord-Tenant Mediation Board, the Culver City Sister City Committee, Friends of the Library Board, and the Culver City Centennial Celebration Committee. She edited Culver City’s Centennial Poetry Collection, published in 2018. She was Culver City’s Artist Laureate for Poetry from 2015-2019, and now holds Emerita status.
The daughter of a Foreign Service Officer, Dr. Hoult traveled the world from a young age and graduated from high school in Iran. She received degrees from USC (Ed.D. in 1980), UCLA (M.A. in 1972), Universite de Grenoble in Grenoble, France (C.E.S. in 1963), and the University of Washington (B.A. in 1958). Dr. Hoult was also a Fulbright Fellow and Lecturer in France. She taught for seventeen years with the Los Angeles Unified School District, and then trained language teachers around the world. She later became a professor at CSULA, where she taught for fourteen years and served as Director for the CSULA Center for Effective Teaching and Learning training new faculty members and also served as Acting Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs for two years. While at CSULA, Janet received the Distinguished Service Award, Distinguished Woman of the Year Award, and the Outstanding Professor Award.
Dr. Hoult has published numerous volumes of poetry. Proceeds from her books go to several charities, including the Boneyard (Culver City’s only dog park), Friends of the Griffith Observatory, and a scholarship endowment for biology in memory of her son. She reads her poetry at each regular session of the Culver City Council Meetings.
“I’m honored to represent Culver City as an Older American,” said Dr. Hoult. “This has been my home base, my place to find support and peace for over fifty years. I look forward to continuing to write and encourage our Older Americans.”
Dr. Hoult currently resides at Palm Court, a senior living community in Culver City. She read the following poem she composed at the awards ceremony:
As you grow older
You have to be bolder
When taking care of yourself
Keep using your mind
And you will find
You can better maintain your health
Community is key
And you can take it from me
Culver City is filled with a wealth
Of activities to enlighten
And very much brighten
Each of your days which is great
So without hesitation
Or undo contemplation
A truth I will definitely state
Is my love for this town
Which brings me a smile, not a frown
And always finds ways to stimulate
